Street and highway safety is at the forefront of concerns when speaking in regards to public safety. One type of system that is frequently used to avoid accidents and reduce death tolls are vehicle barrier systems. These are mechanical system that rely on absorbing impact energy itself rather than passing it the impacting vehicle and its occupants. A common type of system utilizes barrels filled with sand, water, or other material to perform this task.
While such barrels work well, they are difficult to handle and stack due to their large size. Even after they are stacked, they are difficult to separate due to the vacuum that is formed between the components. Additionally, should lids come off, or bottoms fails, the contained material can spill all over adjacent road surfaces resulting in costly and dangerous cleanup. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which a vehicle barrier can be modified to address the above concerns. The development of the highway crash barrel fulfills this need.